Cuba's Economy

[T.J. Wolfe]

I understand it's very hard to find true information on Cuba because it is either a hellhold in a Capitalist's point of view or a utopia in a Communist's, but I still thought this was interesting.

Please let this end all the lies from the Cuban exiles about how bad Cuba is and whatnot. All these statistics come from

UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
UNSD - United Nations Statistics Division
EPICA - Ecumenical Program in Central America and the Carribean
CIA World Factbook
UNICEF

So what are the exiles response to this? No way the United Nations woud be making these statistics up.

Literacy Before & After The Revolution
1952 59%
2005 97%


Life Expectancy Before & After The Revolution
1955 59.4 years
2005 76.6 years


Infant Mortality* Before & After The Revolution
1958 60
2005 5.8
* The number of deaths of infants under one year old in a
given year per 1,000 live births in the same year.

Infant Mortality Rate*
Haiti 93.35
Bolivia 57.52
Guyana 38.37
Peru 38.18
Dominican Republic 33.41
Ecuador 33.02
Nicaragua 32.52
Honduras 30.48
Paraguay 28.75
El Salvador 27.58
Mexico 24.52
Trinidad & Tobago 24.20
Suriname 23.48
Colombia 23.21
Panama 19.57
Argentina 17.20
Dominica 15.94
Grenada 14.63
Jamaica 13.71
French Guinana 13.22
Barbados 11.71
Costa Rica 10.87
Puerto Rico 9.30
United States 7.00
Cuba 5.80

Youth Literacy Rate
Haiti 67.0%
Honduras 86.4%
Brazil 95.8%
Colombia 97.2%
Mexico 97.4%
Argentina 98.7%
Cuba 99.8%


Adult Literacy
Haiti 45%
St Lucia 67%
Dominican Republic 82%
French Guiana 83%
Bolivia 83%
Brazil 83%
Jamaica 85%
Peru 88%
Puerto Rico 89%
Ecuador 90%
Venezuela 91%
Colombia 91%
Paraguay 92%
Suriname 93%
Chile 95%
Argentina 96%
Cuba 97%

Human Poverty Index*
Haiti 42.3%
Honduras 20.5%
Brazil 12.2%
Mexico 9.4%
Colombia 8.9%
Cuba 4.1%
* Lower is better.

Persons Per Doctor
Haiti 15,100
Honduras 1,850
Colombia 1,100
Brazil 825
Dominican Republic 795
United States 470
Cuba 290

Persons Per Hospital Bed
Haiti 14,115
Honduras 950
Colombia 690
Dominican Republic 670
Brazil 322
United States 280
Cuba 200

Unemployment Rate
Haiti 70%
Guadeloupe 27.8%
Argentina 25%
French Guiana 21%
Suriname 20%
Paraguay 17.8%
Colombia 17%
Uruguay 15.2%
Dominican Republic 15%
Venezuela 14.1%
Ecuador 14%
Trinidad & Tobago 11.8%
Chile 10.1%
Puerto Rico 9.5%
Guyana 9.1%
Peru 9%
Bolivia 7.6%
Canada 7.2%
Brazil 6.4%
United States 5.8%
Cuba 4.1%

Inflation Rate
Suriname 59.00
Ecuador 22.00
Haiti 14.00
Venezuela 12.30
Brazil 7.70
Colombia 7.60
Paraguay 7.20
Jamaica 6.90
Mexico 6.50
Guyana 6.00
Puerto Rico 5.70
Dominican Republic 5.00
Argentina 4.00
Uruguay 3.60
Chile 3.50
United States 3.00
Canada 2.80
French Guinana 2.50
Bolivia 2.00
Peru 1.50
Cuba 0.50

Proportion of Population with Access to Improved Sanitation
(Urban and Rurual)
Haiti 28%
Mexico 74%
Honduras 75%
Argentina 82%
Colombia 86%
Cuba

Women In Parliamentary Seats
Haiti 4%
Honduras 6%
Brazil 9%
Colombia 12.2%
United States 14%
Mexico 15.9%
Argentina 31.3%
Cuba 36%

Other Facts


Cuba is among the top five Latin American countries in protein and calorie intake.


Cuba has compulsory education through the ninth grade and available to 12th grade to all youth; university enrollment exceeding 200, 000 with another 90, 000 students graduating annually from one of 600 technical and professional training institutes -- all absolutely free.


The average Cuban worker has ten years of education; one of every ten scientists in Latin America and the Caribbean is in Cuba (although Cuba makes up only 2% of the region's population).


In Cuba, 50% of all skilled workers or professionals (including physicians) are women & 29% of management positions are held by women.


Ninety-four percent of the population has electrical service in Cuba, surpassing the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean by some 20%. Television reaches even remote mountain areas and Cuban radio covers the entire island.


The Cubans have built formidable pharmaceutical, genetic engineering and biotechnology industries, and have twenty scientific research centers investigating products from inexpensive pharmaceuticals to "green medicine."


The majority of Cubans own their homes. During the urban reforms in the early sixties, those Cubans paying rent to landlords who had fled to Miami, continued to pay the same rent to the State for a period of 5 to 10 years after which time the house or apartment became theirs. Servants who lived in the houses of the rich paid rent to the State and became owners of those homes after a period of years. New homes were bought with a government mortgage for approximately $5, 000 (with a 2% to 4% interest rate payable over 20-30 years, paid off at no more than 10% of the chief breadwinner's income).


Gas bills in Cuba average 2-4 pesos (8-16 cents) a month; electricity 5-7 pesos (20-28 cents) a month; telephone 6-8 pesos (24-32 cents) a month, the first 300 minutes being free. As you can see, all these services are subsidized by the State.


In 1999, the Latin American Laboratory for the Evaluation of Educational Quality (LLECE) tested 4, 000 students in third and fourth grades in 100 randomly selected schools in 14 Latin American countries. Cuba's Elementary Education came out on top. The Cuban children scored 350 points on a scale of 400. Despite the economic blockade, the State maintained free education with a 1, 585 billion pesos educational budget in 1999. School enrollment is 100% on the elementary level, and 95% on the secondary level. There is one teacher per 40 children compared to one per 103 in the world. While in 1959 Cuba had only 3 Universities, it now has 47 which have graduated 600, 000 students. In 1952, less than 50% of Cuban children went to school, over 40% of the population was illiterate, and 10, 000 of the existing 25, 000 teachers were unemployed. Now, every child has access to free education, remains in school through 6th grade, and then continues on with secondary education. In most Latin American countries 50% of all enrolled children leave by 4th grade.


A divorce usually takes about 3 months in Cuba and costs $5. Everything is split equally between the separating couple. If there are children involved, the ex-husband has to pay 10% of his wages as alimony, and usually leaves the house so that his ex-wife and children can live in it.


In Cuba, sovereignty resides in the people. Over 97% of the people eligible to vote, vote in an electoral system which serves to nominate and then elect those best suited to fulfill their position. There are three Assemblies: the Municipal Assembly, the Provincial Assembly, and the National Assembly. In the Municipal Assembly, neighbors nominate their candidates who are finally selected by secret ballot vote by the entire constituency. The fact that candidates are not nominated by the Communist Party but by the people themselves, itself marks the democratic nature of the process. In the same way, the election of the members for the Provincial and National Assemblies are selected by secret ballot vote by the people directly. The last electoral process in Cuba began in June 1997 and finished on Feb. 24th, 1998. The previous election took place 5 years earlier, 1992/1993. The election process has two phases: it consists of (1) electing the delegates for the Municipal Assembly, and (2) electing the deputies to the Provincial and National Assemblies.


The Cuban Constitution (discussed and created through numerous public meetings and adopted by secret ballot in a referendum in 1976) states, in the First Article of the Electoral System, Article 131, that: "All citizens with the legal capacity to do so, have the right to take part in the leadership of the State, directly or through their elected representatives to the bodies of People Power, and to participate for this purpose and as prescribed by law in the periodic elections and people's referendums through free, equal, and secret vote." In Cuba, you will find grass-roots democracy never seen anywhere else in the world, where the people themselves nominate their candidates for election. A candidate must get more than 50% of a secret ballot vote to get elected. Even Fidel Castro has to get 50% of a secret ballot vote to represent the electorate. Every candidate nominated faces the electorate on his/her own merit.


The Communist Party is forbidden by law to play any role in the elections. The only publicity allowed candidates is a posted biography with a photograph of the candidate. They are not allowed to spend money on furthering their chances for selection. Neither are State organizations permitted to issue statements favoring any candidate.


In order to join the Partido Comunista Cubano (PCC - Cuban Communist Party), Cubans must be chosen as model workers by their co-workers.


Cuba's highest leadership body is the Council of State, of which Fidel Castro is the elected President. He was last elected on February 24th, 1998 (all 601 deputies of the National Assembly, by secret ballot vote, chose him to be the President).


Despite all the media coverage of all the people leaving by boat, by percentage, few Cubans actually leave Cuba, and there are many issues involved. Firstly, before the Cuban Revolution the United States gave very few Cubans visas to come to the United States, but after the revolution the doors were opened wide. Secondly, the United States has held an unjust trade embargo against Cuba for 40 years (which has been condemed several times in the United Nations by almost every country in the world) which has caused the people of Cuba to suffer. Finally, the United States enacted the 'Cuban Adjustment Act', the only act of its kind anywhere in the world, which grants residency to anyone, no matter if they are a criminal or not, who leaves Cuba and reaches the United States in any fashion. Imagine if the same act applied to all of Latin America! How many people from other countries would leave for the United States? How many people leave places like Mexico and the Dominican Republic now?

[penmyst]

Who says that the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba is "unjust"? The U.N.? The same U.N. that has countries like China and the Sudan on Human Rights Commissions? The same U.N. filthy with the corruption of the Oil-for-food scandal?

And, it's the U.S. causing the people of Cuba to suffer? lmao. It surely couldn't be their communist dictator making them suffer, could it? Nope, let's blame good old Uncle Sam. /rolls eyes


I don't know what it's like to live in Cuba. Most of the world doesn't know either because it's kinda tough to get objective reporting from a totalitarian state. But I think I will read between the lines- when you see people putting their lives in the hands of some rickety makeshift raft and setting sail on the ocean to try and escape--- Ima guess life in Cuba is about as far from pleasant as you can possibly be.

[PittsburghAfterDark]

Let's see here.

Unemployment factors are thrown out the window in a communist society.Â*Â*They mean absolutely nothing.Â*Â*With a centrally controlled economy you work, may not get paid much if at all, but you work.Â*Â*You may be working for food rations, housing or priviledges but with no free market they're irrelevant.Â*Â*

The GDP of Cuba is $37 billion.Â*Â*Individually that's $3,300 per person.
Link (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cu.html)

Compare that to the U.S. GDP of $12.47 trillion.Â*Â*Individually that's $42,000 per person.
Link (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html)

So right there, how does any of the economic factors you cited matter?Â*Â*The overwhelming majority of the Cuban people are practically "volunteer" workers by U.S. standards.Â*Â*What good is education, doctor/patient ratios if what you're taught is communist dogma and propaganda and health care is far from state of the art and not on the cutting edge of any area of expertise or practice?

Last but not least you cite women in Cuban parliament. Ummm, yeah, like that parliament means jack. It's a rubber stamp and feel goodism rubber stamp for Castro. Nothing more than a reward to people as Communist Party loyalty. Without any real power to effect change or act as a counter to a dictator for life it's one of the most meaningless statistics you cited.

Let me ask you one last thing. If you needed major life saving surgery are you going to want to go to Cuba or the May Clinic, Cedars Sinai, John Hopkins or the Cleveland Clinic. That alone answers your question to the true usefulness of the Cuban medical system.

[T.J. Wolfe]

And, it's the U.S. causing the people of Cuba to suffer? lmao. It surely couldn't be their communist dictator making them suffer, could it? Nope, let's blame good old Uncle Sam. /rolls eyes


Cuba (as far as I know) doesn't have any foreign trade agreements. The last one they had was U.S.S.R., and since the collapse of it and the Communist Party, they've been screwed. The U.S. cut off all trades with Cuba JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE COMMUNIST. That's close-minded ignorance for ya.

And I did not come up with these statistics myself, I found them on another forum.

[AlonzoMourning23]

Cuba trades with countries such as Canada, and a recent trade agreement with venezuela resulted in relatively significant growth. But their main industry is tourism. The tourism industry is absolutely massive.

Castro also did not start out in opposition to the u.s., the relationship between the two nations was horrible which resulted in cuba falling into soviet hands. The trade embargo had a massive effect, leaving cuba dependent on handouts from the ussr and caused significant issues when the ussr collapsed. This was remedied (mostly) with the rise of the tourism industry. Other than that, the only industry in Cuba that is really doing well is the biopharmaceuticals industry, as cuba has discovered multiple vaccines and, in some cases, is the only nation that produces them.

PAD, with cuba though you have to look at similar nations. Haiti, jamaica, mexico etc. those countries all perform miserably when compared cuba in terms of education, health care etc. And cuba does not stand out in terms of GDP in latin america, despite the rest of the nations being mostly capitalist. Many statistics of cuba's health and education rival first world nations such as canada and the u.s. The issue with cuba is social freedom and economic growth. In terms of education, health care, nutrition, taking care of rural areas etc. cuba is remarkable considering how little money they have to work with. Those statistics only show half the picture though. But, considering cuba is often depicted as a land of starving people, americans often think it's worse than it is.Â*Â*

[PittsburghAfterDark]

Right, women are entering the prostitution career because things are so damn good and there's so much food.
Link (http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/develop/2003/0326cuba.htm)

That's why the daily calorie intake has dropped 16% since Castro's revolution.
http://www.ncpa.org/pd/gif/calorie.gif
Link (http://www.ncpa.org/pi/internat/pdinter/april98c.html)

http://www.therealcuba.com/kubac298.jpg
Cuban hospital.

Yet despite all these things, the mentally ill left, such as our friends alanzo and TJ here, think things are all rosey.

In fact, they're not alone apologizing for murderous dictators enriching themselves while spewing BS propaganda.

Food, poverty and ecology: Cuba & Venezuela lead the way

Jon Lamb

Cuba’s shining example

A nation that has been forced to endure major economic upheavals and constraints, Cuba is a shining example of what can be done to diversify agricultural production and meet energy needs in a sustainable way.

Prior to the 1959 Cuban Revolution, like most impoverished countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, Cuba was under the thumb of US business interests, which was bad news for the environment.
Link (http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2005/613/613p12.htm)

You'll notice that the fans of the Cuban Revolution are militant environmentalists opposed to capitalism, yes?

Notice a trend here?Â*Â*Could it be that Communism is still alive and well under the guise of "progressive", "enivronmental", "peace" and "immigrants rights" labels?

Nah, couldn't be.

Sterling images of Castro's Cuba.

http://www.therealcuba.com/Holguin0401X.JPG
Castro's new roads.

http://www.therealcuba.com/Cookingondiesel.JPG
Typical Cuban apartment kitchen. Cooking with diesel fuel.

http://www.therealcuba.com/cuba%20bedroom%202006.jpg
Typical Cuban apartment bedroom. I didn't live this poorly camping, let alone in college.

http://www.therealcuba.com/Holguin0401BX.JPG
Most Cuban cops are now riding bikes.

http://www.therealcuba.com/holguin%20horse-bus1.JPG
Cuban mass transportation.

http://www.therealcuba.com/hOLGUINSTREETS2X.JPG
Streets of Holgunis, note the car is a Soviet made Lada. No new cars. People are getting around on bikes or pack animals.

Yep, Cuba. Where statistics propagated by the left mean everything and reality means nothing.

You guys would have made wonderful Stalinists. The state can do no wrong.

[T.J. Wolfe]

Yet despite all these things, the mentally ill left, such as our friends alanzo and TJ here, think things are all rosey.


I would love to know where I even mentioned Cuba would be a good place to live in.

And how do you know those pictures weren't just the bad part of Cuba?

Look, the U.S. can do it too! (http://www.american-pictures.com/gallery/usa/index_apathy_1.htm)

You must understand that the pictures of Cuba you showed aren't due to Communism, because they're not Communist. I guarantee Fidel Castro is not living like that.

[penmyst]

Yeah, funny thing about living in a dictatorship.... it's not all that bad if YOU are the dictator.

[PittsburghAfterDark]

Of course in this island paradise where communism is great, everyone has jobs, plentiful healthcare, can read, women serve in the HA! legislature in record number it's very important for your dear dictator, and former jungle dwelling rebel scum, to be worth $900 million. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060504/ts_nm/forbes_rulers_dc_1)

What a better way to show solidarity with the average Cuban earning $3,300 per year than robbing the country blind and being a murderous, torturing, communist er..... uhm.... communist preaching mutli-millionaire.

Now you know what George Soros so desperately would love to be.

[AlonzoMourning23]

Right, women are entering the prostitution career because things are so damn good and there's so much food.
Link (http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/develop/2003/0326cuba.htm)

And prostitution is a Cuban phenomenon?

That's why the daily calorie intake has dropped 16% since Castro's revolution.

Cuban hospital.

Yet despite all these things, the mentally ill left, such as our friends alanzo and TJ here, think things are all rosey.

In fact, they're not alone apologizing for murderous dictators enriching themselves while spewing BS propaganda.

Food, poverty and ecology: Cuba & Venezuela lead the way

Jon Lamb

Cuba’s shining example

A nation that has been forced to endure major economic upheavals and constraints, Cuba is a shining example of what can be done to diversify agricultural production and meet energy needs in a sustainable way.

Prior to the 1959 Cuban Revolution, like most impoverished countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, Cuba was under the thumb of US business interests, which was bad news for the environment.
Link (http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2005/613/613p12.htm)

You'll notice that the fans of the Cuban Revolution are militant environmentalists opposed to capitalism, yes?

Notice a trend here?Â*Â*Could it be that Communism is still alive and well under the guise of "progressive", "enivronmental", "peace" and "immigrants rights" labels?

Nah, couldn't be.

Sterling images of Castro's Cuba.

Castro's new roads.

Typical Cuban apartment kitchen.Â*Â*Cooking with diesel fuel.

Typical Cuban apartment bedroom.Â*Â*I didn't live this poorly camping, let alone in college.

Most Cuban cops are now riding bikes.

Cuban mass transportation.

Streets of Holgunis, note the car is a Soviet made Lada.Â*Â*No new cars.Â*Â* People are getting around on bikes or pack animals.

Pictures are powerful emotional statements, but can also support any side. They don't tell the full picture. It's like taking a picture off of "operation rescue" and holding that up as an argument against abortion.

You also need to look at countries such as jamaica, haiti, and the dominican republic to get an idea of the likely condition cuba would be in today. Mexico would probably the best they would be if they had continued on a capitalist pace. That's not a condemnation, but you can't expect Cuba to be only a step away from the worlds wealthiest nation if it weren't for Castro. You can get plenty of emotional images out of Haiti, Jamaica etc.

You have people dying of starvation in Haiti. The other 3 have high amounts of severe malnutrition in areas of the country. People are not starving in Cuba and malnutrition is remarkebly low for that part of the world, lower than the other 3.

Yep, Cuba.Â*Â*Where statistics propagated by the left mean everything and reality means nothing.

All these statistics are from a previous argument I had with krazy:

Infant Mortality
Cuba- 6.33
U.S.- 6.5
Haiti- 73.45
Jamaica- 12.36
Mexico- 20.91

Literacy
Cuba- 97%
U.S.- 97%
Haiti- 52.9
Jamaica- 87.9
Mexico- 92.2

Life Expectancy
Cuba- 77.23
U.S.- 77.71
Haiti- 52.92
Jamaica- 73.3
Mexico- 75.19

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

Damn that liberal CIA

Since the 1960s, healthcare in Cuba has been of the regime's top priorities. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s President Fidel Castro repeatedly voiced his intention of converting the country into a 'medical superpower'. Enviable health and medical care indicators have come as a result of this prioritising of one sector above all else, despite the ever-present US embargo - one of the few existing embargoes that explicitly includes foods and medicines as part of its virtual ban on bilateral commercial ties.

Physicians per 100,000 Population
Brazil- 121.3
Cuba- 346.1
Mexico- 160

Cuba has the lowest infant and maternal mortality rates, the highest doctor-to-population ratio and the highest rate of public health service coverage in Latin America.

http://www.worldmarketsanalysis.com/InFocus2002/articles/americas_Cuba_health.html

In the last MICS survey of 2000, the prevalence of malnutrition among pre-school age children, based on the three main anthropometric indicators, was below 5% at national level, with minimal differences among regions. The highest prevalence rates were see in rural areas and in the Occidente region where stunting was 7%. These remarkably low percentages of child malnutrition put Cuba at the forefront of developing countries. Overweight among children showed an increase in prevalence in the 1980s, followed by a decrease between 1993 and 1998 when prevalence rates stabilized around 5%.

http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/cub-e.stm

Malnourishment in Cuba is consistent throughout regions. But not in places like mexico, such as in the state of Chiapas:

Half of the 3.2 million people in Chiapas , a state in southern Mexico , live in poverty, 65% of children are malnourished, 58% of people do not have access to clean water, and 30% of adults are illiterate.

http://www.drop-in-the-ocean.org/microfinance_partners.htm

The success of biotechnology research in Cuba is the main pull-factor for a Swiss delegation arriving in the country for a one-week official visit on Monday.....
Against the odds

Observers say the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the United States trade embargo forced Cuba to develop homegrown solutions to local health problems.

Despite being relatively poor, Cuba's biotech sector is among the most successful in the developing world. Cuba exports biotechnology products to more than 50 countries, mainly in Latin America, eastern Europe and Asia.

Vaccines have been a particular focus of Cuban biotechnology. Local research and development programmes led to the first and only vaccine for a strain of meningitis.

Well-funded research centres, such as the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana, have been at the forefront of several impressive scientific advances.

Ongoing work includes research on a Dengue vaccine, preventative and therapeutic Aids vaccines, a cholera vaccine and a cancer therapeutic vaccine.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline will soon begin clinical trials on a meningitis B vaccine developed in Cuba. Experts say there may be similar
opportunities for Swiss companies in future.

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=511&sid=6461694&cKey=1139829649000

British scientists are also investigating the effectiveness of a Cuban vaccine.

Cuba is the only country in the world to have a national meningitis vaccination programme.

Its development followed a large number of cases, particularly among children, in the 1980s.
The Cuban authorities say that since the vaccination programme began, no children have died from meningitis B in Cuba.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/medical_notes/275804.stm

Here's some statistics compiled by the WHO

Probability of dying (per 1000)

Before 5
Cuba- 7
U.S.- 7
Canada- 6

15-60
Cuba- males 137, females 87
U.S.- males- 139, females- 82
Canada- males- 93, females- 57

Women recieving antanatal care (ANC, prenatal care)
Cuba- 4+ visits- 100%
U.S.- no statistics
Canada- no statistics

Births Attended by skilled professional
Cuba- 100%
U.S.- 99%
Canada- 98%

Immunization-

BGC
Cuba- 99%
U.S.- not offered
Canada- not offered

DTP
Cuba- 71%
U.S.- 96%
Canada- 91%

Measles
Cuba- 99
U.S.- 93
Canada- 95

Hepatitis B
Cuba- 99
U.S.- 92
Canada- no data

Hib
Cuba- 99
U.S.- 92
Canada- 83

Districts achieving 80% DTP 3 coverage
Cuba- 43%
U.S.- no data
Canada- no data


http://www.who.int/whr/2005/annex/indicators_country_a-f.pdf
http://www.who.int/whr/2005/annex/indicators_country_p-z.pdf

You guys would have made wonderful Stalinists.Â*Â*The state can do no wrong


The issue with cuba is social freedom and economic growth. In terms of education, health care, nutrition, taking care of rural areas etc. cuba is remarkable considering how little money they have to work with. Those statistics only show half the picture though. But, considering cuba is often depicted as a land of starving people, americans often think it's worse than it is.Â*Â*

It's called reading comprehension.